Sarson da saag, also known as Sarsa da saag is a dish of
mustard greens cooked with spices. It originated
in the north of the
Indian subcontinent and is popular throughout the region.[2][3][4][5][6]
Name
The dish is known as sarson ka saag (सरसों का साग) in
Hindi, sarson da saag (ਸਰ੍ਹੋਂ ਦਾ ਸਾਗ/سرھوں دا ساگ) or Sareyan da saag (ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਸਾਗ/ثریا دا صاف) in
Punjabi,[7][4][8]sarsav nu shaak in
Gujarati,[9]and sariso saag in
Maithili.[10]
Sarson, sarhon, sareyan, etc. derive from the
Sanskrit word sarśapa (
Sanskrit: सर्षप) meaning mustard.[11]Saag/shaak derives from the Sanskrit Śāka meaning greens or vegetable leaves.[12]
Ingredients and preparation
Mustard is widely grown in the region for the plant's leaves, seeds and seed oil. It is harvested in winter and spring, making sarson ka saag a popular warming dish in the cooler months.[13][14][15]
There are many recipes for the dish, usually cooking the leaves in oil or clarified butter (ghee)[16] with spices such as garlic, ginger and chilli. Other spices used vary according to region and taste.
^Excelsior, Daily (29 September 2018).
"Promotion of Dogra culture". Jammu Kashmir Latest News | Tourism | Breaking News J&K. Retrieved 16 June 2022. ..Dogra cuisine such as Pathores, Makki ki Roti and Sarson ka Saag, Keurs...
^
abHamārā sāhitya (in Hindi). Lalitakalā, Saṃskṛti, va Sāhitya Akādamī, Jammū-Kaśmīra. 1995.
^"Biriya Curry: A Maithil Delicacy Made with Chickpea Greens". GOYA. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2023. No meal within the Maithil community is considered complete without the inclusion of leafy dishes known as saag. Our cuisine is an ode to saag: bathua, laal saag, patua saag, genhari, karmi, sariso saag.
^O'Brien, Charmaine (2013).
The Penguin Food Guide to India. Penguin Books Limited. p. 38.
ISBN9789351185758. In the winter months in Punjab, a richly spiced puree of mustard greens is eaten, accompanied with roti made of ground maize and a knob of fresh, soft, crumbly gur. The classic combination is called sarson ka saag and makki ki roti. Mustard has been grown in Punjab for millennia and its oil-rich seed is an important commercial crop.
^Laveesh Bhandari, Sumita Kale, "Indian states at a glance, 2008-09: Punjab : performance, facts and figures", Pearson Education India, 2009,
ISBN81-317-2345-3, section 4.7.2